Amanda Rivera, 23, of Paradise Township, Pennsylvania, said that while she will never understand how the family of Jason Frey, 25, of Chestnuthill Township, Pennsylvania, was feeling, she asked for their forgiveness.

"I'm so ashamed," Rivera said as she cried, as she did through much of today's sentencing for her crimes. "I know no matter how many times I say I'm sorry it will never bring back the life of Jason."

A New Jersey Superior Court judge sentenced Rivera to the maximum penalty she could get under a plea deal approved last month. She was sentenced to six years in state prison and must serve 85 percent of her time, or a little more than five years, before becoming eligible for parole. She pleaded guilty June 6 to second-degree vehicular homicide and three counts of assault by automobile.

Family members of both Frey and Rivera filled a Warren County courtroom today. Many of Frey's family and friends wore red T-shirts with his picture on them and the phrase "in loving memory."

Frey's mother, Athena Frey, testified that her life has been ruined since the fatal crash.

"I feel like my soul has been ripped out of my body," she said. "I don't know if I'll ever feel happiness again."

She said while she's angry at Rivera, she doesn't hate her and hopes that she considers getting involved with Mothers Against Drunk Driving or another anti-drunk-driving organization.

"I'd like to see something good come out of this," Athena Frey said. "Jason would have wanted that."

Judge Ann Bartlett also strongly suggested Rivera get involved in advocacy against drunk driving. Bartlett appeared shaken by Jason Frey's family testimony and said Rivera deserved the maximum sentence.

"Drunk driving is a scourge on our society," the judge said.

Jason Frey sister's, Tanya Frey, said his death has been especially tough on the family because another of their brothers also died in 2006.

"How could God do this again?" she said. "The defendant is still able to contact her family during prison but heaven can't receive letters."

The crash, which occurred near mile-marker 1 in Hardwick Township, also seriously injured three others in the car with Frey. Rivera was driving the eastbound in the westbound lanes when the crash occurred. Warren County Assistant Prosecutor Donald Cox said Rivera drove between three and five miles the wrong way on the highway, including driving the wrong way through a tollbooth.

Cox read a letter from Marissa Sangiuolo, one of the three hurt, who said she had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder because of crash. Sangiuolo hasn't begun to heal emotionally, Cox read, and she still struggles to walk.

"I watched (Frey) die that night," he read. "The flashbacks and the nightmares don't seem to fade away."

Bartlett ordered Rivera to pay restitution to Sangiuolo and the two other women hurt in the crash, Vanessa Wong, Jason Frey's girlfriend, and Amanda Rodriguez, who was driving the car. The amount of the restitution will be determined later, Bartlett said.